Long-lived Tropical Cyclone Narelle is expected to continue its trail of damage into a third Australian jurisdiction, in a feat not seen in more than 20 years.

Narelle has intensified yet again and is expected to become a powerful category four system by Thursday afternoon off the coast of Western Australia.

It is expected to make landfall late on Friday between Carnarvon and Kalbarri in the state’s north-west as a category three system, which can produce gusts up to 224km/h.

It would be the first time a cyclone has hit Queensland, the Northern Territory and WA since 2005, when Ingrid made three crossings.

Narelle’s epic journey across northern Australia began when it made landfall in Queensland as a category four system last Friday, crossing the Cape York Peninsula.

It left a trail of power outages and flooding as it hit the NT as a category three by Sunday, forcing hundreds to evacuate.

Narelle’s aftermath is still being felt in the NT with major flood warnings current for the Katherine and Daly rivers.

After initially crossing northern WA as a tropical low on Monday, Narelle has gained strength in the Indian Ocean as it again barrels toward the coast.

By Thursday afternoon, it was a category three system producing gusts up to 220km/h about 250 kilometres from Karratha in the Pilbara region, which is being hit by 100km/h winds.

Schools have closed, trees tied down and sandbagging stations are available as Karratha bunkers down.

“It would be hard to work outside today, it’s really windy, and it’s wet,” local Carrie McDowell said.

“If you lived in the city, no one would mind, but because we don’t have rain very often, it freaks everybody out.”

A cyclone warning was current for the Pilbara region stretching from Pardoo Roadhouse to Coral Bay. Exmouth was expecting gusts up to 200km/h by Thursday afternoon.

“Prepare for the possible worst, and hopefully we get away with a bit lighter than that,” Tackle World Exmouth manager Barry Taylor said.

Tourists and visitors have been told to leave the 3000-strong holiday town, which was devastated by category five Cyclone Vance in 1999.

Narelle is expected to move south-east after crossing the coast and pass as a tropical low east of Perth on Saturday, bringing showers and thunderstorms.

More than a week after arriving, Narelle is expected to finally leave Australia when it moves into the Southern Ocean early on Sunday.

Meanwhile, NT locals face an anxious wait as they monitor flood levels triggered by Narelle’s arrival days ago.

Katherine is at risk of flooding for the second time in a month.

The Katherine River was forecast to peak just above the major flood level of 17.5 metres at the town bridge on Thursday.

Emergency shelters are ready to take evacuees from inundated homes, while a portable field hospital has also been set up.

Katherine residents have been warned to steer clear of floodwaters which could isolate homes, cause property damage and conceal crocodiles.

Homes and businesses were inundated on March 7 after the river peaked at 19.2 metres, causing the town’s worst flooding in 28 years.

-AAP